bigmerv

It is quite true that the wording states that a second passenger travels without payment of any Avios.

However, it does not then follow that BA can move that second passenger into a lower class at their whim, without consequence.

If that were the case, then BA could do so in any instance, dropping a companion from F into Y, even in cases where there was no overbooking (or, at the absolute extreme, kicking them off the flight altogether for fun).

That is plainly ridiculous, but is essentially what those arguing the "free ticket" point are saying, whether they realise it or not.

A strict interpretation of BA and AMEX's terms and conditions might even permit this behaviour, but I have little doubt that a court and the FCA would not be impressed.

A P Yu

The J to F upgrade is around £600 at the airport, so a similar airport downgrade price seems fair to me (for an avios 241 thingy)

rakehey

So if I was travelling with my wife and she was downgraded, as the "free" ticket, could I suggest that I would be willing to be downgraded instead as the "paying ticket" and receive a pro rata compensation based on full cost? Bet BA wouldn't go for that...

Andriyko

So, what you are saying that it is not the fact that two people did travel together to where they need to be, albeit in a different cabin, that matters but the fact that they traveled in the downgraded cabin that does? The voucher has no cabin value. The cabin is determined by the amount of Avios, so it makes sense that the compensation is based on the amount of Avios paid.

LondonAndy

I'm not sure I can agree with the logic of arriving at a million vouchers. Taking a leaf from the Raffles School of Statistics (ie a completely unrepresentative sample size ) in my family my father would never get close to the £20K he needs to spend, and my wife and I ended up using our 241 vouchers for domestic flights at the back of the cabin (so no chance of a downgrade) rather than letting them expire.

KARFA

Arent you travelling on a 2-4-1 in f in just over a weeks time? How concerned are you? I say we take the £500 each and head off to the nearest pub

Tobias-UK

... but the voucher has value.

corporate-wage-slave

I think there's a bit of overthinking here. EC261 requires a value be attributed to downgrades, to work out the reimbursement. MCOL - in terms of any court ruling - has to ascribe a monetary value. BA would need to convince the court that their valuation is accurate, and the passenger would need to do the same. Though the onus is on the passenger to prove their case, nevertheless both EC261 and consumer law generally have a bias in the passenger's favour in many respects. Unless the passenger was unreasonable in their calculation then I very much doubt they would be unsuccessful if they took it this far.

LondonAndy

Let's downgrade to CW, still take the flights, take the £500 and THEN go down to the pub

Andriyko

Yes, it does - to allow two people to fly for the price of one ticket. But is not the voucher used when two people fly and the holder receives compensation with Avios? I mean, the second passenger does fly, right? If someone is flying on a super cheap sale fare and gets downgraded do they ask to receive compensation that will allow them to fly in the same cabin again? Reinstating the voucher without asking the holder to pay for the transportation that they still got would put them in an unique position in terms of compensation compared to those who pay cash.

Cymro

No, because there is a statutory compensation regime.

If there weren't, then there might be an argument to be put in the position they would have been in, had the contract been fulfilled. The idea is that you only buy things when you value them more than the cash you've laid out - so a refund is inadequate compensation unless it allows you to repurchase what you had.

In practice, that future value is probably unquantifiable, but there is an argument to be made for the principles that would underpin what you're suggesting.

kellytoronto

Do you have any idea how much of (most) airlines' profit is made through partnerships with banks/credit cards? It's hugely important, and this kind of sweetener, drives people to get the card.

EuropeanPete

Also, the most they apparently are going to cost BA is 500 pounds a trip, and that's if they manage to sell F for proper passengers.

LTN Phobia

IMO they should pick the 2-4-1 passenger for downgrade, commercially speaking, but clearly say so in the T&C for 2-4-1, and state that the ticket is deemed to be 'free' except for TFC.

darthlemsip

Can't see Amex allowing that in the T&C's though.

And imagine the Daily Heil getting hold of that...